Ethics for Academic LibrariansBarbara M. Wildemuth

School of Information & Library Science

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Tapping the vast reservoir of human knowledge --Louis Round Wilson, founder, 1931

Ethical Issues in Librarianship

Intellectual property

Information accuracy

Access to information

Access to technology

Privacy Davis Library

Reasoning about Ethical Issues

Personal values Professional values

Ethical reasoning:Consequences, principles

Ethicaldecisions

Values

Personal valuesFrom upbringingFrom religious beliefs

Professional valuesFrom professional associations

ALA Code of Ethicsthe highest level of service to all library users… equitable service policies; equitable access…uphold the principles of intellectual freedom and resist all efforts to censor… protect each library user's right to privacy and

confidentiality…respect intellectual property rightstreat co-workers and other colleagues with respect, fairness and good faith…do not advance private interests at the expense of library users, colleagues, or our employing

institutionsdo not allow our personal beliefs to interfere with fair representation of the aims of our institutions…strive for excellence in the profession…

Ethical Reasoning

Based on the consequences of your actionUtilitarianism:Choose the action that has the best overall consequences for everyone concerned.

Based on a general principle or ruleKant’s categorical imperative:“Act only according to that maxim by which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law.”

Consider a hypothetical chat reference service offered by the UNC Health Sciences Library

What moral obligation does the library have to protect the privacy of those engaged in chat reference sessions?

Health Sciences Library

An example: privacy

Clarify your own values

Check for professional codes of ethics that pertain to your setting

Consider the consequences

Consider general principles that pertain to the situation

Reminders

Wilson Library